US 9,966,065 B2 · Multi-command single utterance input method

Abstract

Systems and processes are disclosed for handling a multi-part voice command for a virtual assistant. Speech input can be received from a user that includes multiple actionable commands within a single utterance. A text string can be generated from the speech input using a speech transcription process. The text string can be parsed into multiple candidate substrings based on domain keywords, imperative verbs, predetermined substring lengths, or the like. For each candidate substring, a probability can be determined indicating whether the candidate substring corresponds to an actionable command. Such probabilities can be determined based on semantic coherence, similarity to user request templates, querying services to determine manageability, or the like. If the probabilities exceed a threshold, the user intent of each substring can be determined, processes associated with the user intents can be executed, and an acknowledgment can be provided to the user.

Claims72

Dependent claims

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

receive speech input from a user, wherein the speech input comprises a single utterance having one or more actionable commands;
in direct response to receiving the speech input comprising the single utterance:
generate a text string based on the speech input using a speech transcription process;
parse the text string into at least a first candidate substring and a second candidate substring;
determine a first probability that the first candidate substring corresponds to a first actionable command and a second probability that the second candidate sub string corresponds to a second actionable command;
in response to the first probability and the second probability exceeding a threshold, determine a first intent associated with the first candidate substring and a second intent associated with the second candidate substring;
execute a first process identified by the first intent and a second process identified by the second intent;
and
provide to the user an acknowledgment that the first process and the second process have at least begun execution.

6 more elements

An electronic device, comprising:

one or more processors;
a memory;
and
one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
receiving speech input from a user, wherein the speech input comprises a single utterance having one or more actionable commands;
in direct response to receiving the speech input comprising the single utterance:
generating a text string based on the speech input using a speech transcription process;
parsing the text string into at least a first candidate substring and a second candidate substring;
determining a first probability that the first candidate substring corresponds to a first actionable command and a second probability that the second candidate substring corresponds to a second actionable command;
in response to the first probability and the second probability exceeding a threshold, determining a first intent associated with the first candidate substring and a second intent associated with the second candidate substring;
executing a first process identified by the first intent and a second process identified by the second intent;
and
providing to the user an acknowledgment that the first process and the second process have at least begun execution.

10 more elements

A method for processing a multi-part voice command, the method comprising:

at an electronic device:
receiving speech input from a user, wherein the speech input comprises a single utterance having one or more actionable commands;
in direct response to receiving the speech input comprising the single utterance:
generating a text string based on the speech input using a speech transcription process;
parsing the text string into at least a first candidate substring and a second candidate substring;
determining a first probability that the first candidate substring corresponds to a first actionable command and a second probability that the second candidate substring corresponds to a second actionable command;
in response to the first probability and the second probability exceeding a threshold, determining a first intent associated with the first candidate substring and a second intent associated with the second candidate substring;
executing a first process identified by the first intent and a second process identified by the second intent;
and
providing to the user an acknowledgment that the first process and the second process have at least begun execution.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Multi-command single utterance input method

Life of this patent

Multi-command single utterance input method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims72